Upholstery edgings



Oct. 7, 1958 A. M. BANK UPHOLSTERY EDGINGS Filed March 14, 1957INVENTOR, 5?

laser 4 wk United States Patent Ofillce 2,855,027 Patented Oct. 7, 1958UPHOLSTERY EDGINGS Albert M. Bank, Jersey City, N. J. Application March14, 1957, Serial No. 645,933 11 Claims. (Cl. 155-184) The presentinvention relates to upholstery edgings or welts which are mounted alongthe front edge of seat structures and in present-day upholsteryconstruction, they are usually secured along the border wire of springassemblies. Besides their protective function, these welts support theforward ends of the seat cushions, make a proper bend or break in theunderside of the cushion to hold it properly positioned on the seatagainst forward shift and to maintain the cushion downwardly rearwardlysloped at seat edge. These welts are of resilient quality, more or less,and after some time of being subjected even in normal use to thedistorting forces offered by persons sitting, that they get deformed anddisrupt the orderly look of the furniture because of the haphazardpositions assumed by the cushions at front edge when the seat is not inuse and of course, such distortion, ham.- pers their intended function.

It is therefore the principal object of invention to provide a novel andimproved welt construction which will avoid the occurrence of thementioned objectionable conditions. To attain this important object, Iprovide a welt in which the cushion-supporting region thereof is neversubjected directly to force of the weight of persons seated, and uponthe seat being cleared, such region, though having shifted, willautomatically assume its initial position to properly raise and supportthe front edge of the seat cushion.

A further object of this invention is to provide a welt of the characterdescribed and having the attributes set forth, which is of novel andimproved construction, reasonably cheap to manufacture, easy to mountand efficient in carrying out the various functions for which it isdesigned.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosureproceeds.

In the practice of this invention, one form this welt may assume,comprises a first core section provided with attachment fins, onerearwardly horizontal and the other extending downwardly from said firstcore section, forwardly of the first attachment fin. The first core section carries a second core section along the top thereof. Said secondcore section and the attachment fins are all coextensive lengthwise withthe first core section. The juncture of the core sections is of courselengthwise of the welt structure and has resilient quality and servesaxis-like for the swing movement of the second core section. Suchjuncture is comparatively thin. The trans verse cross-section of thesecond core section may be substantially round. The cross section of thefirst core 7 section may also be round. Other shaped cross sections maybe chosen, but it is essential that the juncture of the core sectionsshall be comparatively thin and have some resilient quality.

It is preferred that the line of juncture of the two core sections shallbe along the forward surface of the first core section and it ismandatory that upon application of a downward force on the second coresection, that said second section shall be swung downwardly forwardly ofthe first core section. It is best that the core sections shall be atleast near tangency longitudinally. It is also preferred that the planepassing through the center lines of both core sections shall make anangle of between 45 to 60 degrees with the horizontal plane tangent tothe underside of the first core section. I may also note, that ifdesired, the entire welt may be an extrusion of rubberized orrubber-like material, or as heretofore, there may be a fabric or papercovering for the cores out of which covering, the attachment fins areformed.

A more detailed description will now be given.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, similarcharacters of reference indicate correspondent parts in all the views.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective View showing a welt embodying theteachings of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic end view of the welt shown in Fig. 1,indicating the condition and position of the components thereof whensubjected to the weight of a person seated and its normal condition whenthe seat is clear.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plane view of a spring assembly along whoseborder wire, the welt is shown mounted.

Fig. 4 is similar to Fig. l, but shows the welt as an extrusion; allcomponents being integral.

Fig. 5 is a section of modified core structure.

In the drawings are shown forms of edgings this invention may assume.The numeral 15 designates one of them generally. It consists of a firstwelt body 16 pro- Vided with the lengthwise attaching fins 17 and 18,which are preferably tangent thereto, one downwardly in front and theother rearwardly from its undersurface. Atop the first welt body andlengthwise thereof, is a second welt body 19 preferably of smallerthickness and overhanging it forwardly. The cross sections of the weltbodies may be circular but of importance is that they form a channel 20along the front of the edging 15 to permit forwardly downwardly pivotalmovement of the upper welt body 19. Their construction may comprisecores 16, 19' of crumpled or twisted paper or of other materials wellknown in this art. Such cores are encompassed by a fitted covering 21which may be of burlap or other suitable sheeting. As is well known, theattaching fins 17, 18 may be formed of the covering as shown in Fig. lfor example. The front and rear parts of the covering are preferablyjoined between the cores as by the lines of stitching indicated at 22.It is also practical to make this edging in one piece as an extrusion ofrubber-like material as shown in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4.Here as in Fig. 1, the junction 23 is comparatively of thin section.Regardless of material used, the edging of course, shall have resilientquality; especially said junction 23.

The edging 15, or 15 may be mounted along the border wire of a springassembly in upholstery. It is laid on so that the fin 17 is in front ofand abuts the border wire 28 while the rearward fin 18 is on top of thesprings 24. The fins may be attached by hog rings 25, 26 to said borderwire and the top turns of the springs 24 respectively or in othersuitable manner.

When the edging is subjected to the weight of a person seated on a chairor sofa whose seats front edge is provided with this edging the weltbody 19 will be swung downwardly to position 19a as shown in Fig. 2,thereby flexing the juncture of the welt bodies 16, 19 and will causesome distortion in the cross-sectional form of said welt bodies asindicated in dotted line in said Fig. 2. It is to be noted that aconsiderable part of the stress is spent at such junction and thereoccurs less of deformation of the corpus of the edging to assume itsshape in use when the seat is occupied. It is evident that when the seatis clear, the edging 15 or 15 will automatically assume its originalcondition to raise the front region of the seat pillows of theupholstered article.

The cores 16, 19, may be of felt material or other suitable substancesknown in the art, though twisted paper is popular in present daymanufacture. Also, said core may be a hollow resilient tube of plasticor rubber-like material 30 or such tube may be filled with twisted paper31, or felt and the like.

This invention is capable of numerous forms, for instance the edgingsections may be other than of round cross section as shown, andapplicable for other uses without departing from the essential featuresherein disclosed. It is therefore intended and desired that theembodiments shown shall be deemed illustrative and not restrictive andthat the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set forth;reference being had to the following claims rather than to the specificdescription herein to indicate the scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In an edging for the front top edge of a seat of an article offurniture having a seat to be upholstered, a first horizontal welt body,means thereon for securing same along such edge and a second welt bodyatop and along the first welt body and secured thereto therealong forforwardly downwardly resilient pivotal movement in relation thereto;said welt bodies forming a channel length wise of the edging on thefront surface thereof; said channel being unobstructed and remaining sowhen the edging is in use; the second welt body overhanging the firstwelt body in a forwardly direction; said edging having resilientquality.

2. The edging for upholstery as defined in claim 1, wherein thementioned means comprises two lengthwise fins; one extending rearwardlyand the other downwardly from the first welt body.

3. The edging for upholstery as defined in claim 2, wherein the rearwardfin extends from the bottom and the second fin extends from the front ofthe first welt body.

4. The edging as defined in claim 2, wherein all its parts are integral.

5. The edging as defined in claim 1, including a covering fitted on andencompassing the two welt bodies and where the mentioned means comprisestwo lengthwise fins; one extending rearwardly and the other downwardlyfrom 'the first welt body; said fins being formed of said covering.

6. The edging as defined in claim 5, wherein the rearward fin extendsfrom the bottom and the second fin extends from the front of the firstwelt body.

7. The edging as defined in claim 6, wherein the front and rear parts ofthe covering are joined between the welt bodies.

8. The edging as defined in claim 1, wherein the junction of the weltbodies is comparatively thin and the welt bodies are comparativelythick.

9. The edging as defined in claim 8, wherein the first welt body isthicker than the second welt body.

10. The edging as defined in claim 1, wherein the forward portions ofthe welt bodies are respectively substantially of semi-circularcross-section.

1-1. The edging as defined in claim 1, wherein the mentioned meanscomprises two lengthwise fins; one extending rearwardly and the otherdownwardly from the first welt body and both are substantially tangentthereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,659,117 Spararagen Nov. 17, '1953

